Anti-rotation mechanism for pitot tube

ABSTRACT

A valve assembly is provided and includes a pitot tube having an angled tip to extract from a duct formed by a housing a sample of a fluid to be communicated to an actuator configured to operate the duct, the pitot tube being disposed within the housing whereby the pitot tube is fixed longitudinally between the actuator and the housing and laterally within the housing and an anti-rotation mechanism coupled with the pitot tube to rotationally secure the pitot tube such that the angled tip is fixed to face rearwardly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a divisional application that claims thebenefit of priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/914,462, which isentitled “ANTI-ROTATION MECHANISM FOR PITOT TUBE,” and was filed on Oct.28, 2010. The entire contents of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/914,462are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a valve assembly and,more particularly, to a valve assembly having an anti-rotation mechanismfor a pitot tube.

A pneumatically actuated butterfly valve opens and closes a duct throughwhich fluid passes from an upstream end to a downstream end. Some valvesoperate in accordance with a measurement of the pressure of the fluid atthe upstream end. That is, when they detect that the upstream pressureis too high or beyond a predefined threshold, they close at leastpartially to lower the downstream pressure. By contrast, when theupstream pressure is low, they open to allow more fluid through theduct.

The upstream pressure is detected by way of a pitot tube positioned suchthat its tip is placed in the fluid. The pitot tube is used tocommunicate a sample of the fluid to a valve actuator where the fluidpressure can be extracted and a determination can be made to open orclose the valve. To this end, the pitot tube has an angled tip that isdesigned to discourage debris from entering the tube. In order for thepitot tube to be effective, however, the angled tip must face in thereward direction and the pitot tube must be prevented from rotating.Typically, this is accomplished by the use of a high temperatureadhesive, such as Stycast 2762, but it has been seen that the actualoperating temperature of the fluid often exceeds this and otheradhesive's capability. As such, pitot tubes often rotate to an undesiredorientation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a valve assembly is providedand includes a pitot tube having an angled tip to extract from a ductformed by a housing a sample of a fluid to be communicated to anactuator configured to operate the duct, the pitot tube being disposedwithin the housing whereby the pitot tube is fixed longitudinallybetween the actuator and the housing and laterally within the housingand an anti-rotation mechanism coupled with the pitot tube torotationally secure the pitot tube such that the angled tip is fixed toface rearwardly.

According to another aspect of the invention, a valve assembly isprovided and includes a housing formed to define a duct through which afluid flows rearwardly from an upstream end, a first through-hole and aslot in association with the first through-hole, an actuator to operatethe duct in accordance with a condition at the upstream end, a pitottube having an angled tip for disposition within the first through-holeto extract a sample of the fluid to be communicated to the actuator andan anti-rotation mechanism coupled with the pitot tube and configured tosit within the slot to rotationally secure the pitot tube such that theangled tip is fixed to face rearwardly.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method of forming avalve assembly is provided and includes machining a first through-holeinto a housing, machining a slot partially along the first through-hole,coupling an anti-rotation mechanism with a pitot tube to form a pitottube assembly and installing the pitot tube assembly within the firstthrough-hole such that the anti-rotation mechanism sits within the slot.

These and other advantages and features will become more apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an anti-rotation mechanism fora pitot tube;

FIG. 2 is an axial view of the anti-rotation mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the anti-rotation mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a valve assembly;

FIG. 5 is a top view of an anti-rotation mechanism according toalternate embodiments; and

FIG. 6 is a top view of an anti-rotation mechanism according toalternate embodiments.

The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, togetherwith advantages and features, by way of example with reference to thedrawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1-4, a valve assembly 10 is provided andincludes a housing 20, an actuator 30, a pitot tube 40 and ananti-rotation mechanism 50. The housing 20 is formed to define a duct 21through which a fluid flows in the rearward direction from an upstreamend 22 to a downstream end 23. The housing 20 is further formed todefine a first through-hole 24 and a slot 25. The first through-hole 24extends from an upper surface of the housing 20 to an outer diameter ofthe duct 21 and the slot 25 is formed in association with the firstthrough-hole 24. In some embodiments, the slot 25 extends from the uppersurface of the housing 20 and along a partial length of the firstthrough-hole 24 at opposite sides thereof.

The actuator 30 is coupled to the upper surface of the housing 20 and isconfigured to operate the duct 21, which may include a butterfly valveor a similar type of valve, in accordance with a condition at theupstream end 22. That is, the actuator 30 may open a valve of the duct21 when it is determined that a pressure of the fluid at the upstreamend 22 is low and may close the valve when the upstream fluid pressureis high or above a predetermined threshold.

The pitot tube 40 has an angled tip 41 and is configured for dispositionwithin the first through-hole 24 to extract a sample of the fluid to becommunicated to the actuator 30. The condition at the upstream end 22,such as the upstream fluid pressure, is determined from this fluidsample. The pitot tube 40 is a substantially tubular member and mayinclude a flange 42 at its trailing end opposite the angled tip 41. Theflange 42 may locate the pitot tube 40 longitudinally within the firstthrough-hole 24 such that the angled tip 41 extends into the fluid flowthrough the duct 21 such that the fluid sample can be extracted andtransmitted along the length of the pitot tube 40.

When the pitot tube 40 is disposed within the first through-hole, asdescribed above, the angled tip 41 faces in the rearward direction suchthat a testable sample of the fluid is permitted to flow into the pitottube 40 but excessive amounts of the fluid and/or debris are preventedfrom flowing into the pitot tube 40. The anti-rotation mechanism 50 iscoupled with the pitot tube 40 and configured to sit within the slot 25to rotationally secure the pitot tube 40 within the first through-hole24 such that the angled tip 41 is fixed to face in the rearwarddirection. With the anti-rotation mechanism 50 in use adhesives can beused for secondary retention and sealing, as will be described below,but are not necessary for rotation prevention. Thus, the valve assembly10 can be adapted for use in higher temperature/pressure conditions thanwhat would otherwise be possible.

The anti-rotation mechanism 50 may be formed of a material that isdissimilar from that of the housing 20 and the pitot tube 40. Forexample, the anti-rotation mechanism 50 may be formed of steel or asteel alloy while the housing 20 and the pitot tube 40 may each beformed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. With this construction, inorder to prevent galvanic corrosion, the anti-rotation mechanism may bewet installed and provided with a coating of epoxy primer.

In accordance with embodiments, the anti-rotation mechanism 50 mayinclude a tubular slotted spring 51 that extends through the pitot tube40 such that ends 52 of the tubular slotted spring 51 protrude frompitot tube sides 43 and so that the protruding ends 52 can sit at thebottom of the slot 25. To this end, the pitot tube 40 may be formed todefine a second through-hole 44 extending through the sides 43. Thetubular slotted spring 51 includes a body portion extendingcircumferentially such that ends of the body portion nearly meet tothereby define a longitudinal slot. The tubular slotted spring 51 cantherefore be squeezed to fit within the second through-hole 44 andsubsequently released to assume a secure fit therein.

Once the tubular slotted spring 51 in inserted into the pitot tube 40,the resulting pitot tube assembly 400, which includes the pitot tube 40and the tubular slotted spring 51, can be disposed within the firstthrough-hole 24 with the protruding ends 52 aligned with and sittingwithin the slot 25. Once the pitot tube 40 is disposed within the firstthrough-hole 24, the abutment of the protruding ends 52 and thesidewalls of the slot 25 prevent pitot tube 40 rotation. In accordancewith embodiments, the first through-hole 24 and the second through-hole44 may be oriented transversely with respect to one another and, assuch, the pitot tube 40 and the tubular slotted spring 51 may also beoriented substantially transversely with respect to one another. Inaccordance with further embodiments, the pitot tube 40 and the tubularslotted spring 51 may be perpendicular to one another.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, it is to be understood that, inaccordance with alternate embodiments, other anti-rotation mechanisms 50are available. These include bosses 60 (see FIG. 5), which may becoupled to the pitot tube 40 at the sides 43 to sit within the slot 25and to operate similarly as the protruding ends 52 without the need fora feature extending through the center of the pitot tube 40. The bosses60 may be adhered to the sides 43 or integrally connected to the pitottube 40 and may be provided singularly or as a plurality of bosses 60with even or staggered arrangements with respect to one another. Otheralternative embodiments include the formation of the pitot tube 40 withregular or irregular features 70 that abut complementary features 71 ofthe first through-hole 24 (see FIG. 6). In this way, once the pitot tube40 is inserted within the first through-hole 24, rotation of the pitottube 40 is inhibited by the abutment of the features 70 and thecomplementary feature 71.

In order to provide for secondary retention and for sealing purposes, anadhesive 80 may be interposed between the housing 20 and the pitot tube40. This adhesive 80 may include, for example, a silicone based adhesiveor a similar type of adhesive and may be included in the pitot tubeassembly 400 as well.

In accordance with aspects of the invention, a method of forming a valveassembly 10 is provided and includes machining a first through-hole 24into a housing 20, machining a slot 25 partially along the firstthrough-hole 24, coupling an anti-rotation mechanism 50 with a pitottube 40 to form a pitot tube assembly 400 and installing the pitot tubeassembly 400 within the first through-hole 24 such that theanti-rotation mechanism 50 sits within the slot 25. Here, the machiningmay include at least one of milling and/or electro-dynamic machining.Also, in order to prevent galvanic corrosion between the anti-rotationmechanism 50 and the housing 20 and the pitot tube 40, the anti-rotationmechanism 50 may be coated in epoxy primer.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with onlya limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood thatthe invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, theinvention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations,alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretoforedescribed, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of theinvention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention havebeen described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention mayinclude only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, theinvention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, butis only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of forming a valve assembly, the method comprising:machining a first through-hole into a housing; machining a slotpartially along the first through-hole; coupling an anti-rotationmechanism with a pitot tube to form a pitot tube assembly; andinstalling the pitot tube assembly within the first through-hole suchthat the anti-rotation mechanism sits within the slot.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the machining comprises milling.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the machining compriseselectro-dynamic machining.
 4. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising coating the anti-rotation mechanism in epoxy primer.
 5. Amethod, comprising: providing a pitot tube with an angled tip to extracta fluid sample from a duct of a housing; and disposing the pitot tubewithin the housing such that the pitot tube is rotationally fixed. 6.The method according to claim 5, wherein the disposing comprisesmachining the housing to be receptive of the pitot tube and ananti-rotation mechanism coupled with the pitot tube.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the machining comprising at least one ofmilling and electro-dynamic machining.
 8. The method according to claim5, further comprising coating the anti-rotation mechanism to preventgalvanic corrosion.
 9. The method according to claim 5, furthercomprising coating the anti-rotation mechanism in epoxy primer.
 10. Themethod according to claim 5, further comprising interposing an adhesivebetween the housing and the pitot tube.
 11. The method according toclaim 5, further comprising operating the duct in accordance with acondition at an upstream end of the duct.
 12. A method, comprising:providing a pitot tube with an angled tip to extract from a duct formedby a housing a sample of a fluid to be communicated to an actuatorconfigured to operate the duct; disposing the pitot tube within thehousing such that the pitot tube is fixed longitudinally between theactuator and the housing and laterally within the housing; and couplingan anti-rotation mechanism with the pitot tube such that the angled tipis fixed to face rearwardly.
 13. The method according to claim 12,wherein the disposing comprises machining the housing to be receptive ofthe pitot tube.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein thedisposing further comprises machining the housing to be receptive of theanti-rotation mechanism.
 15. The method according to claim 13, whereinthe machining comprising at least one of milling and electro-dynamicmachining.
 16. The method according to claim 12, further comprisingcoating the anti-rotation mechanism to prevent galvanic corrosion. 17.The method according to claim 12, further comprising coating theanti-rotation mechanism in epoxy primer.
 18. The method according toclaim 12, further comprising orienting the pitot tube and theanti-rotation mechanism transversely.
 19. The method according to claim12, further comprising interposing an adhesive between the housing andthe pitot tube.
 20. The method according to claim 12, further comprisingoperating the duct in accordance with a condition at an upstream end ofthe duct.